Linked List: August 6, 2009

Thursday, 6 August 2009

David Pogue on the Google Voice/Apple/AT&T Affair ★

Pogue simply nails it:

In short, what Apple and AT&T have accomplished with their heavy-handed, Soviet information-control style is not to bury these useful apps. Instead, Apple/AT&T have elevated them to martyr status — and, in effect, thrown down a worldwide challenge to programmers everywhere.

“Get around THIS,” they’re saying.

But guess what? It won’t take long. They’ve put a rock in the river, but the water will just find a way around it.

The Good Old Days of Swear Words on the iPhone ★

It’s a little thing, but this week’s Ninjawords saga has reminded me of this nugget from my day-one first impressions review of the original iPhone:

The auto-suggest correction system works pretty damn well, considering it hasn’t yet had a chance to learn much about what and how I type. Most impressive touch: it knows the word “fucking”.

I think it was OS 2.0 where the “ducking” thing kicked in.

John Hughes Dies at 59 ★

I don’t think you can overstate how influential his films were for my generation. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is, in my book, his masterpiece.

Reuters Gets It ★

Chris Aheam, president of media at Thomson Reuters:

I believe in the link economy. Please feel free to link to our stories — it adds value to all producers of content. I believe you should play fair and encourage your readers to read-around to what others are producing if you use it and find it interesting.

I don’t believe you could or should charge others for simply linking to your content. Appropriate excerpting and referencing are not only acceptable, but encouraged. If someone wants to create a business on the back of others’ original content, the parties should have a business relationship that benefits both.

Spot-on.

Lies About Lying ★

Errol Morris interviews Ricky Jay on lying and deception:

ERROL MORRIS: But do you have a problem lying?

RICKY JAY: Not only do I lie, I take real pleasure in lying, in the transmission of magic effects. It’s creative, how you do it.

(I’m currently reading Jay’s out-of-print Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women, and it’s simply one of the best books I’ve read in years.)

The Logo Evolution of Coca-Cola and Pepsi ★

Armin Vit compares the evolutions of Coca-Cola and Pepsi’s branding. Count me in with Dan Cederholm — Pepsi should revert to the 1973 branding.

Rupert Murdoch Plans Charge for All News Web Sites by Next Summer ★

Good luck.

Lenovo Reports $16 Million Quarterly Loss ★

The AP reports:

Lenovo Group, the world’s fourth-largest personal computer maker, reported a $16 million quarterly loss Thursday amid weak global demand but said its market share grew.

Revenue was down 18 percent from the year-ago quarter. Because so much of the PC industry is engaged in a race for the bottom, “market share” is no longer much of a bragging point. The computer maker that has weathered this recession the best is Apple — the company which last year many analysts predicted would weather it the worst. They predicted Apple would be in trouble because it focuses on the high end of the market, but it’s exactly that focus that has enabled Apple to not just tread water but continue to grow.